President Jim Ryan and Provost Liz Magill announced that Robyn S. Hadley, associate vice chancellor and dean for scholar programs at Washington University in St. Louis, will become UVA’s next vice president and chief student affairs officer, effective June 1.
Hadley will lead more than 200 student affairs professionals supporting students across the University, from enrollment through graduation. Reporting to the president and the provost, she will oversee a diverse portfolio including the Office of the Dean of Students, the Department of Student Health, the Office of African-American Affairs and the University Career Center. The vice president also partners with student leaders involved in the Honor Committee, the University Judiciary Committee, Student Council and hundreds of other student-led organizations.
Hadley arrived at Washington University in St. Louis in 2014 after being recruited by Provost Holden Thorp to lead the John B. Ervin Scholars Program and support university initiatives to increase enrollment and support of historically underrepresented students. Her portfolio as associate vice chancellor has since expanded significantly, with a focus on student success and development. In addition to the Office of Scholar Programs, she oversees disability resources, TRIO student support services, and co-leads the Committee to Support Under-Resourced Students.
A first-generation college student, Hadley was raised by her father, a textile transportation worker, and mother, a public-school secretary, in the small town of Graham, North Carolina. An excellent student and athlete, Hadley found herself at the age of 17 in the enviable position of having been accepted with full scholarships to Harvard University, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Hadley chose UNC, just 25 miles from home, where she had been offered a Morehead Scholarship. She would go on to earn a B.A. in public policy analysis and play two years of basketball for the Tar Heels before studying political science as a graduate student and Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.
Hadley began her career in business, holding various positions in the JAMNC Export Import Group in Hampton, Virginia, where she eventually rose to president and chief operating officer. The management group served as a Department of Defense contractor, agribusiness developer, and consultant for a USDA grant project, as well as being a member of the National Minority Supplier Development Council network.